


Slow Down, What's The Rush?

by someone_who_believed



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Amnesia, Drinking, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Insomnia, M/M, Spoilers, Spoilers from episode 14
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 14:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14334576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/someone_who_believed/pseuds/someone_who_believed
Summary: In hindsight, Molly should have seen this coming. He should’ve known the moment when he truly saw Caleb that the other man would be able to cut through the bullshit and see right through him. Molly’s seen the bright flashes of the wizard’s personality and humor. He knows how powerful and clever the Zemnian can be, how dangerous the man can be. Molly can’t deny that watching Caleb in his element gives the tiefling a sort of thrill. After tonight though, Molly also knows of the deep kindness that Caleb usually keeps hidden away.





	Slow Down, What's The Rush?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! So I've fallen in love with Critical Role and the Mighty Nein, and the last episode inspired me and reminded me of how much I miss writing. I actually started writing this after ep 13 but then ep 14 kicked it into high gear, and the story just took over. I really adore Caleb and Molly, so I hope you guys enjoy it. Please let me know what you guys think!
> 
> It's my first time posting on AO3 so please forgive any mistakes with the tags or format. Let me know if there are any mistakes or issues!

Molly cannot sleep.

It’s not the first time that insomnia has plagued the tiefling, but it is the first time in a long time that he feels as though he has no place to turn to. He’s no longer in the circus, no longer with the family that had found him all those years ago. Yasha, although close by, would not be able to slip away from Beau and Jester unnoticed and Molly cannot deal with any more questions tonight. Not tonight.

So Molly drinks and tries to forget.

Ha.

Forgetting things is the whole reason he is in trouble in the first place.

Dammit.

Shaking his head, Molly downs another drink to chase away his morbid thoughts. He gestures to Wessik for a refill and tips the dragonborn kindly for his troubles. Molly tries to steer his thoughts in a different direction, in any other direction really, and ends up thinking of the Mighty Nein.

He wonders if he will ever consider the Nein as family, and if they will do the same in return. Molly craves the familiarity and comfort he had before. He hasn’t realized how much he enjoyed being part of a family until the circus was taken from him. It wasn’t perfect, but it was his. For all the mistrust and shenanigans that the Mighty Nein has pulled so far, Molly thinks that maybe they could be his too with time. The circus had found him, but he had found the Mighty nein. He hopes that means something. 

Out of all the members in The Mighty Nein, Caleb Widogast is the one who baffles Molly the most. Molly, of all people, knows better than to judge a book by it’s cover, but it does come as a surprise to him that the socially awkward human would be the hardest for him to read in their little rag tag group. Molly can still remember when he first landed eyes on their resident wizard. He hadn’t thought much of the other man at the time, not with how disheveled and worn out the wizard had appeared that day. Caleb had been another mark, someone who looked like they had the right amount of coin and was in desperate need of a good time. Now, Molly isn’t sure what to make of Caleb.

One of the reasons Molly is so interested in Caleb is because of how he hides himself away. Caleb shies away from most attention, using his filth and awkwardness as a deterrent from anyone who would want to engage with him. At first glance, there isn’t anything remarkable about Caleb; the man is seemingly nothing but shades of brown and a skittish demeanor. He blends into his surroundings so effortlessly that it feels as though Caleb would just vanish if you took your eyes off of him for long enough. Caleb wears dirt and grime as armor so well that people forget that there could be more lurking beneath it.

For someone who supposedly hates being the center of attention, Caleb is actually quite good with people when he wants to be. Caleb has his own way of coercing people, has his own personal charm. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that Caleb and Nott had been grifting other people for months prior to the circus debacle, but it Molly can’t help but be impressed by how Caleb can both swindle people and still remain completely unmemorable. He doesn’t always approve of it, especially when Caleb tries to screw over perfectly fine people, but Molly can appreciate Caleb’s skill. 

If Molly were more honest, he would be able to admit that part of his fascination with Caleb is due to the fact that he feels like he can relate with the man. They both hide away from the world, keeping their secrets close to their chest. Molly does this through layers and layers of outlandish apparel and his even more outlandish stories. Caleb does it by hiding behind his beggar like appearance and awkwardness. They both let the world make its assumptions, all while they work their way towards something more. 

The fact that Caleb has the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes and endearing accent, coupled with his wit and skills, isn’t something that has escaped Molly’s notice either.

Molly wonders if Caleb will ever share his goals and reasoning with him, before wondering why he cares about any of that in the first place. There are more important and pressing matters at hand. Molly takes another gracious chug of his tankard as thoughts of Lucien begin to creep into his mind once again.

Lucien. 

Molly never knew that one name could stir up such utter hated and fear in himself. He still feels raw and vulnerable from his talk with the Nein, a talk which had only reinforced his determination to stay the fuck away from anyone or anything that could possibly tie back to the tiefling that found his end in the dirt two years ago. 

Fuck Lucien.

Molly barely knows anything about the bastard, yet Lucien still haunts him. If Lucien has this much power over him when he’s still a stranger, Molly doesn’t want to know what would happen if they tried to learn more about the enigma that is Lucien.

Nausea hits Molly hard, and he debates taking a walk around town to settle his nerves despite his more than tipsy state and the fact that the crownsguard are undoubtedly on the prowl for him. He needs a distraction. He needs sleep. He needs to feel like himself again.

Before Molly can do anything tremendously stupid, he suddenly finds himself with a lapful of cat. Frumpkin stares at Molly, eyes kind and somehow knowing, before making himself comfortable on Molly’s lap. Dumbstruck, Molly just pets Frumpkin and feels a bit more grounded then before.

“I don’t mind having your cat here, but make sure they don’t climb onto the bar or disturb the any of the other customers,” Wessik says as he tends to another one of the few other souls awake at this godforsaken hour.

Molly opens his mouth to say something along the lines of how Frumkin isn’t actually his cat and would probably take offense to him claiming otherwise when another voice speaks up.

“Ja, Frumpkin is a good cat, he won’t cause any trouble.”

As Molly tries to turn in the direction of the voice, he jostles Frumpkin enough that the familiar claws at his pants in retaliation. Molly pays it little mind though as he comes face to face with the Zemnian wizard.

Caleb seems to shrink back in on himself when he realizes that Molly’s attention is focused solely on him and not on Frumpkin. The wizard had actually held eye contact for a bit before breaking it and sitting down next to Molly. Despite how shitty Molly still feels about everything, he feels a small smile tug at his lips.

Caleb Widogast, a man that wouldn’t look you in the eye, but one that would eagerly appraise your painted dick.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Molly finally says as he watches Caleb pull out a book from his raggedy coat.

“Ja, out of all the bars in town, strange that we should both be at the one that is right under our lodgings,” Caleb says in a monotone voice, eyes never leaving his book.

Molly cannot contain the laughter the bubbles out from him, and he is grateful that the rest of the Mighty Nein are asleep and aren’t privy to the undignified snort he let out at Caleb’s dry humor. It says a lot about how Molly must look if Caleb is attempting to comfort him in some way.

He turns to Frumpkin, who seems to be fascinated by the patterns on Molly pants, and says, “He has jokes now! Will wonders never cease? Do you think this means Beau will actually be able to successfully flirt with someone or will Yasha be doomed to the most awkward courtship of all time?”

Frumpkin meows in response.

“Ah, of course you’re right. I should just consider it a blessing that Beau hasn’t tried to punch a crownsguard just to impress Yasha. Although the stupidity it would take to do that would be impressive,” Molly muses aloud as Frumpkin purrs under the constant petting he is receiving. 

Out of his peripheral vision, Molly notices that Caleb might actually be smiling a bit. It’s nice. Not just the smile, but also the fact that Molly was able to put it there in the first place. It makes him feel a less crazy. A little less lonely.

Surprisingly, they don’t talk after that. Molly, who usually fills up silences with any tale he can spin or trick he can pull, finds comfort in the silence with Caleb and his familiar. Molly isn’t in the right state of mind to parse out why he might the how’s and why’s this might be, but he does know it means something, or has the potential to mean something very important. 

After he gained the ability to speak properly, expanding his vocabulary to more than just the word ‘empty,’ Molly rarely stopped talking. He is never quiet, never one to pass up a story or miss out in telling one, except in very rare circumstances and company. So Molly knows that the silence is some sort of sign, something special or some sort of shift he will watch out for from now on. He’s letting Caleb see a part of himself that he rarely shows to others, and for some reason that doesn’t scare Molly.

In hindsight, Molly should have seen this coming. He should’ve known the moment when he truly saw Caleb that the other man would be able to cut through the bullshit and see right through him. Molly’s seen the bright flashes of the wizard’s personality and humor. He knows how powerful and clever the Zemnian can be, how dangerous the man can be. Molly can’t deny that watching Caleb in his element gives the tiefling a sort of thrill. After tonight though, Molly also knows of the deep kindness that Caleb usually keeps hidden away.

A part from Yasha and the rest of the circus, Molly held little hope of people understanding his circumstances. Molly barely understood it himself. But tonight, Caleb accepted him. Caleb differentiated Molly and Lucien. Caleb understood what it was like to have a second chance. Caleb addressed Molly by his full name, by his chosen name, and was satisfied with Molly as he was, damaged and all.

Molly, with all of his missing memories and bullshit stories, was enough for Caleb.

Relief and gratitude overwhelm Molly to the point that he doesn’t realize that he had practically been squeezing the life at of Frumpkin, until the cat growls in protest.

“Sorry sweetheart, just got a bit lost there,” Molly murmurs to Frumpkin, gently scratching the cat’s chin in a poor apology. Frumpkin must take pity on him because the cat only bites Molly’s fingers once before settling down once again.

Molly is so distracted by Frumpkin that he doesn’t expect the hand that carefully grabs his arm. He turns his head and comes face to face with Caleb.

Molly’s first thought is, _‘Oh, eye contact with Caleb.’_

His second is, _‘Oh, Caleb really does have an alluring set of eyes. It’s a shame he hides them away so much.’_

It’s only when Caleb immediately drops all eye contact and turns a vibrant shade of red that Molly realize he must’ve said that last thought out loud. He’s too enamored with Caleb’s blush to be embarrassed or to notice that Frumpkin’s purring almost sounds like laughter at this point.

Caleb clears his throat, still refusing to look Molly in the eyes, “Are you alright?”

Molly already feels the lie that is about to slip through his lips, but at the last minute he stops it. Instead he decides to say something that is part truth, part joke, “No, but I really never have been before so that’s hardly anything new, darling.”

Another almost smile graces Caleb’s lips, “We should start a club.”

“Aren’t we already in one?” Molly teases, curious to see if he can coax a genuine smile out of the other man.

No full fledged smile, but Molly still see some redness in Caleb’s cheeks and the tension that usually haunts the wizard doesn’t seem as pressing as usual so he counts it as a win.

“It’s getting late, we should go to bed,” Caleb says as he gets out of his seat.

“Oh my, how forward of you Caleb. Do rendezvous with criminal masterminds always get you going or was it my natural charm that finally did you in?” Molly really can’t help himself sometimes.

Caleb sends him a withering glare that intensifies as Frumpkin continues to make the strange noise that is somewhere between a purr and a laugh. Caleb sighs when Molly shows no signs of remorse or hints of changing the topic. Instead of just leaving, which Molly had expected, Caleb presses the book he had been reading into Molly’s chest.

“Read this if you still have problems sleeping,” Caleb grumbles.

Molly flounders for a second, words escaping him. He clears his throat and hopes that his voice doesn’t give away the affection he currently feels building up inside of him, “Is this the smut you’d been trying to get since we arrived in the city? If it’s not I’m going to be sorely disappointed.”

Caleb looks him dead in the eye and says in the dullest tone, “You are now the proud owner of banned historical smut,” he waits a beat “Congratulation.”

And Molly, a little tipsy and lot exhausted from the day, absolutely loses it. Frumpkin hisses at him and poor Wessik shoots them an exasperated look, but Molly cannot be bothered to care. He needed a reason to laugh after all the things that had happened in the past few hours, so he is going to let himself enjoy the moment. When he is finally able to calm himself down, he wonders if he is imagining the soft and fond look that crosses Caleb’s face.

“Can it rival Tusk Love?” Molly asks, just to see where it gets him.

“I have not read that, but judging from Jester _very_ detailed summary, I highly doubt anything could compare to the masterpiece known as Tusk Love,” Caleb says, sounding both solemn and exhausted at the same time. 

Molly smiles and shrugs, “Shame that, but I suppose I’ll make do,” he goes to gently lift Frumpkin off his lap and transfer him to Caleb when the other man shakes his head.

“Frumpkin will stay with you tonight,” Caleb says, studiously avoiding Molly’s gaze.

“Oh,” the word escapes Molly before he can really process anything. Frumpkin takes that moment to jump from Molly’s grasp and onto his shoulders. The familiar arranges himself into a scarf-like position Molly has seen him do to Caleb in the past.

Molly opens his mouth, intent on thanking Caleb but the words get stuck in his throat and refuse to leave. In the end all he manages to say is, “Good night Caleb.”

Caleb’s eyes find his and Molly is yet again struck with the intensity and beauty they posses. He silently berates himself for overlooking Caleb’s strength all this time. He won’t ever underestimate the man again. Molly doubts his heart will let him forget this moment.

“Good night Mollymauk,” Caleb says softly, eyes gentle, and then turns away to head to his room.

Molly stands there a moment longer, probably looking foolish. His head is still a mess but he feels lighter somehow, safer even. He’s not ignoring how frantically his heart seems to be beating, but he figures that he can deal with that some other day. For now, having this small and undefined moment with Caleb is enough. Frumpkin makes another purring noise, which prompts Molly to rub his cheek against the cat affectionately. 

“Sorry about that, love. Let’s go to bed now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on my tumblr! [Say hi!](http://someone-who-believed.tumblr.com/)


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